Ok, so I have a 29g tank that I am planning on redoing. I have been looking at shellies recently and I really like them. I am having trouble with what species and any possible tankmates. Can anyone help me out?
First Shell Dweller Tank: Need Advice
- Thread starter RisiganL.
- Start date
I personally prefer multies. I know they are the most common, but I think they are the most enjoyable as well. They are the only ones I have actually kept in my home, so maybe someone with more experience with other types could weigh in on what it's like to keep them. I liked keeping them in a species only tank, but I have seen quite a few people keep them with other fish with a good bit of success. It seems to be a matter of making sure the other fish they are with are tough enough, and not a threat to their territory .
How many multies can I keep in a 29g? I have heard that they form colonies with several generations of fish, which sounds really nice to me. Are there any other species that do this?
Multis do this and is what i would recommend for a tank that size, another would be the Hecqui they form colonies as well, a 29gal would be a species only tank, most shellies only use the bottom portion of the tank so you might get by with adding some top water fish like danio's or rainbowfish
You can keep quite a lot of shellies in a 29g. Their bioload is super low and they are pretty small. When I started keeping them I began with about 9 or 10 in a 10g tank and let them breed from there and never had ANY issues with my tank being overstocked if that tells you anything.
I haven't heard about Hecqui before. Can anyone give me some info on them? Also, I am thinking about how to get the pH up in my tank. Out of the tap, the water is 7-7.2 pH. I am thinking of mixing inert black estes sand with crushed coral.
In a 29gal you can keep a lot of Multi's and they will surely fill the tank up with a colony but adding other species of Shell dwellers will be asking for it and is why i stated species tank, The one true thing about Shellies is that they are small but have a huge Cichlid attitude and will not tolerate another species in a smaller foot print aquarium and will bicker between the species and hamper breeding efforts and thus will diminish the colony setting.
As for Lepidiolamprologus Hecqui they are more of a robust shellie and have an even bigger attitude but will still set a colony style of living, They have a cool camo pattern with blue eyes but in a 29gal they should be the only ones. If you can get them give em a try they are a nice Tang..
Here a couple of mine one is an older male and two younger offspring..
As for Lepidiolamprologus Hecqui they are more of a robust shellie and have an even bigger attitude but will still set a colony style of living, They have a cool camo pattern with blue eyes but in a 29gal they should be the only ones. If you can get them give em a try they are a nice Tang..
Here a couple of mine one is an older male and two younger offspring..
Wow! I think I just fell in love with L. Hacqui! I have read that they get larger than most shell dwellers. I would probably do a species tank with these guys, but how many would I be able to put in?
In the 29gal if you could start out with a mated pair you would be fine if for some reason you can not find a mated pair then 5 Juveniles would be fine but you will have to separate the others once you get a mated pair they defend their fry and colony aggressively. I have two mated pairs in a 120gal and they at times fight but are able to get away from each others territory. But i agree they are a nice bigger shellie. I have had a few batches of fry but as you could imagine i can not catch them in a 120gal unless i completely break down the tank..
I would set up the tank with a sand bottom a few rocks and some larger shells like the larger whale eye or Japanese trap shells for these guys, a couple of shells per fish.. I hope you get these they are truly a nice fish and remember to post photos here if you do..
I would set up the tank with a sand bottom a few rocks and some larger shells like the larger whale eye or Japanese trap shells for these guys, a couple of shells per fish.. I hope you get these they are truly a nice fish and remember to post photos here if you do..